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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22721257">Two's Company, Three's a Crowd</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liz3yy317865/pseuds/Liz3yy317865'>Liz3yy317865</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018), Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ben is the best friend ever, Dorks in Love, Joe is chaotic, Joe is the king of pranks, M/M, all of the fluff, cardboard ben - Freeform, cardy b</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 15:54:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,796</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22721257</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liz3yy317865/pseuds/Liz3yy317865</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>At last, now the weekend can begin, Ben thought excitedly to himself </p><p>He had just arrived home after a long day of filming, and had expected to be met by Joe the second he got through the front door. The older man was visiting from New York and Ben had offered to put him up for a few days instead of getting a hotel. The close friends hadn’t seen each other for a while due to conflicting schedules so they wanted to make the most of their limited time together. </p><p>As Ben locked up and toed off his shoes however he was met with a deafening and rather unnerving silence. The lights were on but no-one literally appeared to be home. </p><p>OR </p><p>Joe pulls a prank on Ben whilst hiding his true feelings for his friend, will they have a happy ending?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ben Hardy/Joe Mazzello</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Two's Company, Three's a Crowd</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey folks, this is my first attempt at writing Joe Mazzello and Ben Hardy, a cute bit of fluff with some life affirming gentle smut at the end. </p><p>Hope you'll enjoy reading this, please leave comments. Comments are life :D</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>At last, now the weekend can begin, Ben thought excitedly to himself </p><p>He had just arrived home after a long day of filming, and had expected to be met by Joe the second he got through the front door. The older man was visiting from New York and Ben had offered to put him up for a few days instead of getting a hotel. The close friends hadn’t seen each other for a while due to conflicting schedules so they wanted to make the most of their limited time together. </p><p>As Ben locked up and toed off his shoes however he was met with a deafening and rather unnerving silence. The lights were on but no-one literally appeared to be home. </p><p>“Joe mate, you ok?” He called out </p><p>Nothing, not a sound </p><p>This was weird, and so unlike the ginger haired one </p><p>“Joe, where are you?” Ben went from room to room in search of his pal but came up with a blank until he reached the dining room. The door was ajar, a soft dimmed light filled the room and he could hear Joe’s voice, it sounded like he was talking to someone...</p><p>As Ben pushed the door open he wasn’t quite prepared for what he would be faced with. His friend was there alright as bright as day and he technically wasn’t alone </p><p>Joe was sitting at the dining table clutching a glass of red wine, talking animatedly to his dinner companion, waving his hand about to illustrate his point. The table had been beautifully set with the finest crockery that Ben owned, accompanied by a pair of lit candles and a vase full of yellow sunflowers. Where had those come from? There was no sign of any food, but a delicious smell permeated the air from the direction of the kitchen making Ben’s stomach grumble, it reminded him that he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch </p><p>“I’m starting to think this has gone too far mate” Ben laughed as he surveyed the scene in front of him, shaking his head fondly. He should have known that leaving Joe by himself all day was a recipe for mischief </p><p>Joe’s choice of “date” for the evening was none other than Cardboard Ben, how Joe had managed to smuggle him (it?) into the flat without the younger man noticing was anyone’s guess. Better yet was the cardboard glass taped to his hand and napkin tucked around his chin. </p><p>“Did you hear something Cardy?” Joe raised an eyebrow whilst making a show of looking all around him. “No, me neither, I must be imagining things. So anyway as I was saying…”</p><p>Ben had to give Joe credit, he was doing a damn good job of ignoring him and carrying on with his pretend dinner date. The silly sod must have been planning this for weeks. </p><p>Ben stood arms folded, watching quietly as Joe continued to chat away, pausing every now and then as if “Cardy” was replying to him. The man’s imagination was off the scale. Then suddenly he got up, declaring that dinner was ready, “it’s lasagna, hope you like it?” </p><p>You swine!, Ben thought to himself. Joe knew that was the blondes favourite meal. This was 1st class teasing of the highest order. </p><p>Joe returned from the kitchen bearing the largest dish of steaming hot lasagna that Ben had ever seen, he placed it ceremonially on the table then proceeded to serve both himself and his “companion”, all the while still pretending that Ben wasn’t watching him just feet away</p><p>This was getting beyond weird</p><p>“More wine Cardy? Sure, here you go”</p><p>“....erm, Joe mate this is really funny, but I think it’s time to stop now yeah? I’m bloody starving” </p><p>Joe started to dig into his meal, making small talk in between mouthfuls. He acted completely oblivious to Ben’s presence and even started talking about him, like he wasn’t stood there in the same room</p><p>Ben was getting worried now, he honestly didn’t know if Joe was messing with him or not. His sarcasm and pranks were legendary but this was something else</p><p>“Hey Cardy, whatever you do don’t let on to Ben that you were here tonight ok? I don’t want him getting jealous of our special friendship. We’ve got a good thing going on here don’t you think?” Joe poured himself more wine and leaned across the table to clink glasses with his inanimate friend. </p><p>“It’s a real shame you can’t stay the night, but I was thinking perhaps we could go check out that new rom com at the theatre tomorrow? The one with Adam Sandler? I’ve heard it’s supposed to be so good….yeah? What’s that?....oh I agree man” </p><p>Ben backed out of the door, his eyes wide whilst reaching for his cell phone. Something odd was happening here and he needed help, he decided to call Gwil, he would know what to do. Before Ben had a chance to dial the number though a pair of arms suddenly grabbed him from behind and tackled him to the floor, accompanied my maniacal laughter </p><p>“I got you! I totally had you fooled!”</p><p>“Bloody hell mate, you scared the shit out of me!”</p><p>Joe released his grip on Ben and allowed the younger man to sit up, they were both breathing heavily and giggling like a pair of naughty school kids. “You..” Ben declared, “are a prize prat!” </p><p>Joe was still laughing, holding his sides from the pain “Oh man, I have a stitch!” </p><p>“Serves you right, you muppet!” </p><p>“Oh come on, admit it that was pretty funny right? I can’t believe you fell for it too, you actually believed I had lost my mind!” </p><p>Ben had to admit that Joe was right, he was also impressed with the effort he’d gone to to set it all up, as he hadn’t suspected a thing. </p><p>“There is one thing I can’t get my head round” Ben confessed as they both finally got to their feet, “How the hell, and when, did you smuggle that thing in?” </p><p>“That thing?! Excuse me!” Joe was outraged, “Cardy B has a special place in my life I’ll have you know. Anyway, I never kiss and tell. How he got here is between me and him” </p><p>Ben rolled his eyes, “Yeah, yeah ok...can I get some of that lasagna now?” </p><p>“Sure, no problem” Joe replied as he headed back to the kitchen, “...seeing as you paid for it” </p><p>Ben gaped in astonishment, this was the last time he would ever risk leaving a bored and mischievous Joe alone in his flat </p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>Later that evening with a full belly and a bottle of wine gone Ben was in full relaxation mode. Joe’s lasagna had tasted even better than it had smelled, so he could easily forgive the little tyke for raiding his fridge in order to make it. </p><p>The boys spent a couple of chilled hours in the lounge flicking through the TV and generally chatting away, discussing how their respective days had been and confirming their plans for the coming weekend. There would essentially be a lot of sleeping in, drinking, eating (including of course Joe’s favourite afternoon tea) and a good old fashioned catch up, with a little male bonding thrown in. </p><p>Joe loved visiting London, he’d fallen hard for the city since his first time there during the making of BoRhap, and being able to hang out with Ben made it even better. The pair had developed a close friendship whilst working on the movie and had been determined to keep it going after the final scenes had been shot. They had just clicked, despite their differences and simply enjoyed each other’s company. </p><p>To thank Ben for putting him up (and putting up with him) Joe had splashed out on a stash of luxury chocolates, the kind only available in upstate New York, and that he knew Ben adored. The second Joe unveiled them after dinner the younger man dove right in with a delighted and adorable squeal </p><p>“Oh Joe mate, I could kiss you! These….I swear are THE best truffles on Earth, hands down, no question”</p><p>Joe watched Ben get stuck into the sweet treats with a smile, a sad smile in a way. Oh how he wished Ben would kiss him...he’d developed a crush on the blonde in recent months, he longed for more than just friendship but knew there was no way he could confess his feelings as he was certain that Ben wouldn’t feel the same way. It would risk destroying them if Joe came out</p><p>Instead Joe put on a happy face as ever as he prepared to present Ben with his real gift…</p><p>“...Uh, I heard that band you really like, The 1975 are touring right now and have a concert  here in town this weekend so I...might have got us a couple of tickets”</p><p>The look on Ben’s face was a picture, “...are you shitting me? You got tickets? I’ve been trying for months but it was sold out!” </p><p>“Yeah, well I may have pulled a few strings, called in a couple of favours you know…”</p><p>Ben surged forward and enveloped Joe in a tight hug, “god I love you man, this is so amazing!”</p><p>I love you too, Joe wanted to respond, but instead he simply smiled warmly back and revelled in his friends happiness </p><p>As the night wore on Joe tried hard to put his feelings for Ben to one side, he told himself he’d just have to man up and get over it. Ben was straight, end of, so there was no way in hell he’d ever consider Joe in an even remotely romantic light. </p><p>Before long the day started to catch up with Joe and he figured it was time to hit the sack and get some sleep, he was still slightly jet lagged and in danger of getting emotional if he didn’t get to bed soon. Ben it seemed thankfully had the same idea as he’d disappeared to the bathroom to get washed up. </p><p>Laying in Ben’s spare bed Joe struggled to settle, he was still a little high on adrenaline from his escapades earlier in the day, and chuckled softly to himself at the thought of Ben’s reaction. Ben….sweet, lovely Ben with his beautiful blonde hair, ripped abs and strong arms. Joe sighed deeply as he imagined those strong arms wrapped around him right now. </p><p>Cardboard Ben had been a bit of fun at first, a practical but amusing way to include Ben in the press tour for BoRhap whilst the real life version was off filming in Ireland. But as time went on Joe found himself getting strangely attached to the cut out, it was unhealthy some might say. Joe found it comforting, a way to keep his friend close to him when in reality they were thousands of miles apart. </p><p>He couldn’t get Ben out of his head, and how much he adored the younger man. His thoughts turned to imagining him naked in the shower just feet away…and what he would do to him right now. Joe was getting more and more turned on as his thoughts grew more lurid, he was full of both shame and lust as he reached for the waistband of his sleep shorts, there was only one way to get this out of his system…</p><p>Joe sighed as he wrapped his hand around his cock, he was half hard already and it didn’t take much to get him fully turned on. He stroked firmly but slowly, imagining it was Ben’s warm hand instead of his own. Joe had to suppress a groan to avoid anyone hearing him, having to jam his fist into his mouth as he got more and more worked up. Time lost all meaning for Joe as he continued to pleasure himself. His eyes were screwed shut and his lips parted slightly whilst he softly whimpered, nudging ever closer and closer to the edge. </p><p>Joe was so wrapped up in his fantasy that he didn’t hear a light knock at the door, Ben had wanted to ask him something before it slipped his mind and thinking his older friend would still be up went to speak with him, taking his cardboard counterpart along for a laugh. Ben knocked a couple of times and waited, not sure if Joe was still awake, then he heard what sounded like his name being called out…</p><p>“...Hey Joe, buddy you still awake? Sorry mate, I just wanted to check if….”</p><p>Ben pushed the door open slightly and froze at the sight in front of him, Joe was seemingly lost in a world of his own. He was under the covers but it was obvious what he was doing, and very much enjoying it. </p><p>Ben was mesmerised and stood silently for a moment watching his friend fidget and move about in the bed as he pleasured himself, sighing and gasping softly every now and then. It felt wrong to intrude on such a private moment but Ben couldn’t look away, thinking how gorgeous Joe looked right now as he writhed in ecstasy. </p><p>After a few more minutes Ben couldn’t take it anymore, and coughed lightly to make his presence known. Joe was so startled he almost fell right off the bed. “Oh god, Ben?...shit...I....I…how long have been standing there?...I’m so sorry, oh my god….!”  Joe  scrambled to make himself decent despite already being covered up, </p><p>“Hey it’s ok Joe, it’s ok. I’m the one who should apologise, I shouldn’t have come in” Ben slinks over and gently takes a seat at the end of the bed, “....are you ok?”</p><p>Joe can’t look Ben in the eye, he’s mortified and horribly embarrassed now his secret is out. Now he’ll have to find himself a hotel at short notice as he’s certain Ben won’t want him around anymore</p><p>“....yeah, I’m fine...I’ll…uh, find a room somewhere in the morning, I’ll be out of your hair as quick as I can…”</p><p>Ben looked astonished, “What do you mean get a room? You have one here”</p><p>“....I, I just thought that you wouldn’t want me to stay here anymore now that you...now that you know….”</p><p>“Of course I want you to stay Joey, I love having you around….I erm…was wondering actually if you needed a hand with that? Ben gives Joe a kind and knowing look </p><p>Now it was Joes turn to be surprised as he gaped in astonishment at his friend, he wasn’t expecting this response, “I don’t understand? You…don’t mind?”</p><p>Ben scooted over and slipped under the covers alongside the brunette, “Of course not, I actually have to confess...I like you too you know, a lot...and not just as a friend either” </p><p>Before Joe could respond Ben slipped his hand slowly and gently into his boxers and carried on where the older man had left off. Joe tried to resist initially but then melted under the touch of his friend, going boneless against the mattress. </p><p>“Is that good love?” Ben already knew the answer. Joe was panting, his groans growing louder and louder as Ben’s skilled hand gradually coaxed an explosive orgasm out of him, one of the strongest he’d ever had. </p><p>Feeling completely spent Joe breathed out a loud sigh, looking over at Ben who was gazing at him adoringly. “Wow, that was…..wow” Joe laughed </p><p>“I’ll take that as a compliment” Ben replied proudly with a hint of smugness. He reached over to stroke Joe’s cheek and then leaned in for a gentle kiss. It was soft and warm, everything that Joe had imagined it would be. He was in heaven right now</p><p>“Ben, what does this mean, you know for us? Joe asked nervously, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear the answer. This had been fun, but would Ben want more? </p><p>“Well, I don’t know about you but I was kind of hoping this won’t be a one off...if that’s ok with you?”</p><p>Joe responded by surging forward and pulling Ben into a tight hug, kissing him deeply. “Let’s take things slow ok? I love you too much to ruin what we have right now Benny, but yeah, yeah I really don’t want this to be one off either”<br/>
The two men grinned at each other like idiots, holding hands and acting like a pair of love struck teenagers. </p><p>“Want me to stay here tonight?” Ben asked softly, brushing a lock of stray hair out of Joe’s eyes</p><p>“Of course, I just have one question…”</p><p>“What’s that?”</p><p>“....What do we do with Cardy over there?”</p><p>“...you know what they say love, two’s company, three’s a crowd”</p>
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